Les Darcy Poem by Francis Duggan

Les Darcy was Australia's greatest boxer and though in his Homeland now his is a revered name
In his late teens he was seen as a draft dodger and back then that was seen as cause for shame
In World war 1 he did not enlist for service he stowed off to America instead
But within months the to be World Champion at twenty years from a poisoned tooth was dead.

His funeral was Australia's biggest ever a half a million turned up it was said
To witness the burial of the famous boxer a legend for the centuries ahead
But it was all too late for poor Les Darcy the Maitland Wonder who died before his prime
And little use to him he's still remembered and his fame has not faded out in time.

In life he was a political football and for him respect came that bit too late
Les Darcy was Australia's greatest boxer and he was on the verge of something great
Some even claim that 'twas not of an abcess tooth he had died but of a broken heart or so they say
As an outcast and an outsider and Homesick and from his Homeland many miles away.

Les Darcy was Australia's greatest boxer yet he died a young man in the U.S.A.
In his brief life he suffered slings and arrows but his legend is alive and well today
It may be true that our lives are mapped out for us and he was one not destined to grow old
Yet still the legend of the great is living and his story is one that is often told.